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Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by ultrasandwich on Thursday January 15, 2026 @03:32PM (#46638841)
Aeropress coffee maker. Look up the James Hoffmann recipe on YouTube and you can never drink another coffee style again
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by jahnu on Thursday January 15, 2026 @03:42PM (#46638989)
Aeropress is great. If you like a large mug of coffee have a try of the Clever Dripper. Had Aeropress at home and CD at work and eventually bought a CD for home because it’s so good.
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by phoobahr on Thursday January 15, 2026 @06:15PM (#46640793)
It's even better with a "AeroPress Flow Control Filter Cap". No dripping, no inversion, and a little extra resistance improves the cup (I think).
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by zeech on Thursday January 15, 2026 @06:30PM (#46640958)
You can also insert the plunger a small amount (maybe half an inch or so, if that) and pull it back up a tiny bit for a similar effect.
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by wasabi991011 on Thursday January 15, 2026 @10:00PM (#46642506)
Love the clever dripper So simple but so easy to repeatedly make a great cup of coffee.
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by LeafItAlone on Thursday January 15, 2026 @09:40PM (#46642382)
I’ve tried most of the coffee making tools and fads, including the above mentioned recipe. I’ve spent thousands and hours and hours of time chasing the feeling others like you describe.

It was so easy for me to go back to a cheap drip coffee maker and pre-ground coffee. I realized that I’ll never appreciate the flavors and process as much as the investment would call for.

Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by rurp on Friday January 16, 2026 @11:33AM (#46648330)
My dad is adamant that coffee beans should only be ground right before use because the resulting coffee tastes so much better. I, on the other hand, can't taste a bit of difference; there's no way I could pick out the pre-ground coffee in a blind taste test.
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by Tomte on Monday January 19, 2026 @11:58AM (#46681379)
Me too. I actually bought a selection of freshly roasted beans from a local roaster, and when I came back I said that I could not distinguish the Peruvian one from the somewhere else one. The roaster was shocked.

I‘d love to have better taste, but I‘m saving so much money, I do not really care.

Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by anotherevan on Thursday January 15, 2026 @11:00PM (#46642851)
I have two Aeropresses so I can make two cups at once for the two coffee drinkers in the house.

I recently got a second shelf rack[1] so they can hang side by side instead of needing to put a plunger in the tube when one is hanging behind.

[1] https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09NL9GDTQ

Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by sceptic123 on Friday January 16, 2026 @11:32AM (#46648310)
I make two cups in one Aeropress, am I doing it wrong?
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by anotherevan on Friday January 16, 2026 @04:28PM (#46652455)
If you are enjoying the coffee, then no, you are not doing it wrong.

There are a lot of different recipes for how to brew coffee in an Aeropress.

Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by Scottn1 on Friday January 16, 2026 @04:39AM (#46644724)
I recently upgraded the cheap plastic version to the robust glass one and feel so much better about having hot liquid simmering in it now.
Re:Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100? by ThrowawayR2 on Friday January 16, 2026 @11:39AM (#46648405)
James Hoffman's pourover and immersion dripper recipes are less muss and fuss, I would say, while still producing coffee that's far better than average.

While on the topic of James Hoffman and coffee, a <$100 device I'd nominate is the insulated heated mugs. I believe he tested the Ember Mug but there are competing models. For those who tend to drink their coffee while working, it's quite a decadent feeling to take a sip without ever having the unanticipated shock of your coffee having gone cold and having to trundle over to the microwave to warm it up (in my case sometimes more than once).